§ Mr. Coombsasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many departments of nutrition there are within medical schools in the United Kingdom doing full teaching and research.
§ Mr. BrookeNone.
§ Mr.Coombsasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of its budget the Medical Research Council is devoting to research specifically on nutrition in the prevention of cancer and cardio-vascular disease.
§ Mr. BrookeI understand that in 1982–83, which is the latest financial year for which figures are available, the Medical Research Council devoted 0.93 per cent. of its overall budget (about £970,000) to research projects which had the clear objective of studying nutrition in the aetiology and prevention of cancer and cardio-vascular diseases. Many other projects supported by the council in the general area of nutrition science — on which the council spend about £6 million annually—may in the longer term have substantial relevance to cancer and cardio-vascular disease.
§ Mr. Coombsasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has as to the nutritional training received by medical students in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. BrookeNutrition is one aspect of biochemistry, which forms part of the undergraduate syllabus laid down by the General Medical Council; the relative emphasis placed on the subject is a matter for individual medical schools.